This was my hangup too. The author implies that it was simply because they didn't have any side projects that they were rejected. I find that hard to believe though because why would they bother bringing them in for an interview if they didn't have any side projects? Plus, 90% of the applicants I ever saw didn't have side projects, so they'd have to auto-reject 90% of their applicants. Why bother bringing in one of the 90% auto-rejects for an interview?